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Category: Toll Roads

Despite high hopes that lawmakers would address the chronic road funding shortfall at the outset of the 83rd session of the Texas legislature, Texas taxpayers only saw $534 million of $1.2 billion in …

So what’s the point? To temporarily bail out a failing toll road only to kick the can down the road? So the new increased speeds on the free route coupled with the already lighter than anticipated traffic on the financially struggling tollway, Cintra’s in real trouble for the foreseeable future. …

The Texas Constitution restricts the use of state gas tax revenues to “…the sole purpose of acquiring rights-of-way, constructing, maintaining, and policing such public roadways…” Yet lawmakers continue to raid the gas tax to fill holes in the budget for non-road purposes… …

So McDonnell is the first governor to propose a complete repeal of the state’s gas tax and replace it with a host of other tax hikes. The primary fatal flaw is turning to a broad-based sales tax increase, some of which can be diverted to mass transit. Gas tax is a tax on the primary users of the road. A broad-based sales tax is not. Bringing the taxation further away from the user is not a good government approach and could be rife with abuses and pilfered for all sorts of non-road, ill-conceived projects that normally would never garner the public support to pass a public vote if it had to secure funding another way. …

Roads a basic core function of government. They’re the life-blood of daily living, and most all other areas of local, state, and federal government depend upon good roads — whether its schools, hospitals, or the jobs that generate the tax base. …

Perry’s leadership to end gas tax diversions, estimated to be $1.3 billion per biennium, is much needed and very helpful. But that alone isn’t sufficient to properly fund our state highways without higher taxes — tolls. …